Top-Ranked UCLA Hosts NCAA Championship This Week

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LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (19-3) enters the 2021 NCAA Championship this week as essentially the three seed. The Bruins will open up on Thursday, Dec. 2 vs. No. 10 Princeton (26-7) at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins and the Tigers will square off in the second quarterfinal game at 3:00 p.m. PT. The winner will face second-seeded California (20-4) on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4:00 p.m. PT in the second semifinal. The winner of that game will advance to the finals on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2:00 p.m. PT. UCLA will provide live stats for every game on FOSH and a live stream will be provided for both quarterfinal games on Thursday. The NCAA will provide a live stream for the semifinals and finals on NCAA.com. All links are provided below and on the UCLA men's water polo 2021 schedule page and the NCAA Tournament Central page.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Thursday, Dec. 2 (Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center - Quarterfinals)
12:00 PM PT – No. 4 Long Beach State vs. No. 7 UC Davis (Live Stream | Live Stats)
3:00 PM PT – No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 10 Princeton (Live Stream | Live Stats)

Saturday, Dec. 4 (Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center - Semifinals)
2:00 PM PT – No. 4 Long Beach State/No. 7 UC Davis vs. No. 1* USC (Live Stream | Live Stats)
4:00 PM PT – No. 1 UCLA/No. 10 Princeton vs. No. 2* California (Live Stream | Live Stats)

Sunday, Dec. 5 (Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center - Finals)
2:00 PM PT – TBD vs. TBD (Live Stream | Live Stats)

*Indicates national seed for NCAA Championship. All other rankings are current national rankings in the latest CWPA Top 20 Poll (Nov. 24).

SERIES HISTORY
UCLA is 15-0 all-time in the series history against Princeton. The Bruins won the last meeting, 14-5, at the Navy Open in Annapolis, Md., on Sept. 7, 2019. UCLA has an all-time winning record against every team in the NCAA Championship. UCLA is currently 91-88-1 against USC, 90-73-1 against California, 103-21-1 against Long Beach State, and 17-0 against UC Davis.

UCLA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Appearances: 36
NCAA Championships: 12
Won-Lost Record: 64-27 (.703)
Second-Place Finishes: 9
Third-Place Finishes: 8
Fourth-Place Finishes: 3
Goals Scored: 951 (10.5 goals per game)
Goals Allowed: 628 (6.9 goals per game)

SAVELJIC SURGING
Graduate student-athlete Nicolas Saveljic has climbed to third on UCLA's career scoring leaders list with 194 goals (1.9 goals per game). He passed Sean Kern (177, 1997-2000) earlier this season. He trails second-place Brett Ormsby (243, 2001-04) and UCLA's all-time leader, Alex Rousseau (290, 1986-89). At the MPSF Championship, he moved into fourth all-time in steals (now has 131), passing Ryder Roberts (130, 2013-16). He needs eight to pass Paul Reynolds for third (137, 2011-14).

2021 MPSF/KAP7 ALL-TOURNAMENT HONOREES
Two UCLA Bruins earned 2021 MPSF All-Tournament accolades as announced by the league office on Nov. 23. Redshirt senior utility Evan Rosenfeld was named the Most Valuable Player which automatically put him on the MPSF/KAP7 All-Tournament Team. He was joined by junior attacker Tommy Gruwell. Rosenfeld had all-around success to help the third-seeded Bruins win their sixth MPSF Championship (Nov. 18-20). Rosenfeld dished two assists and picked up a steal in the quarterfinal against Penn State Behrend and he followed that up with a steal and a drawn exclusion in the semifinal vs. USC. He then finished with one goal, one assist, and three drawn exclusions in the title game vs. Stanford. Perhaps most impressive was his stout defense in the semifinal, helping limit USC to just five goals (only one in the second half), which included turning away all 11 Trojan power plays. Gruwell paced the Bruins' offense with eight goals and 12 points (four assists) in UCLA's three victories on the weekend. He also drew four exclusions, recorded two steals, and won his only sprint in the 2021 MPSF Championship.

2021 ALL-MPSF HONOREES
Six UCLA Bruins earned 2021 All-MPSF accolades as announced by the league office on Nov. 17. UCLA was led by redshirt senior utility Evan Rosenfeld, who was named to the first team for the first time in his career after being named second team in 2018 and again in 2020. Cutino award winner Nicolas Saveljic and junior attacker Tommy Gruwell were both named to the second team. Saveljic becomes the first Bruin to become a five-time all-league honoree. It marked the third all-league honor for Gruwell, including the second straight year on the second team. Three Bruins garnered honorable mention All-MPSF honors. The trio consisted of senior attacker/utility Jake Cavano, junior goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi, and redshirt senior center Felix Brozyna-Vilim. It marked the fourth postseason MPSF honor for Cavano and the second each for Maurizi and Brozyna-Vilim.

HONORING 1971
The Bruins honored the 1971 NCAA Championship team at halftime of the win over Stanford (Oct. 9) as they celebrated the 50th anniversary of UCLA's second NCAA title in program history. In December of 1971, under legendary head coach Bob Horn, the UCLA Bruins went 18-1 overall while bringing the national championship back to Westwood for the second time in school history. The NCAA title marked the 23rd NCAA Championship in UCLA's storied history. The championship tournament, which took place at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, Calif., was just the third in NCAA men's water polo history. The Bruins opened the tournament with a dominant 37-2 win over Washington in the first round. The 37 goals still stand as the single-game record for goals by one team in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA then routed Long Beach State, 10-1, in the semifinals, setting up a meeting with undefeated San Jose State in the finals. Behind three goals from All-American Eric Lindroth, the Bruins defeated the Spartans, 5-3. Greg Arth, Paul Becskehazy, Kevin Craig, and Scott Massey joined Lindroth on the All-American team. Becskehazy led UCLA with 51 goals during the year. The Bruins were without their usual home pool at Sunset Canyon as it was closed during the fall for repairs after suffering damage during the Sylmar earthquake.

A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM
The UCLA Bruins captured their 12th NCAA Championship in men's water polo with a 7-6 win at USC on Mar. 21 at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The win also marked the 119th NCAA Championship for the UCLA Athletic Department. It was a balanced scoring effort by the Bruins, who received goals from six different players. Junior Jake Cavano, who was named to the first team All-NCAA Tournament, scored two goals, including the eventual difference maker with 6:23 left in the game. Sophomore goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi, who also was named first team All-NCAA Tournament, held the Trojans scoreless throughout the first half and racked up nine saves. UCLA never trailed in the game, though USC briefly pulled even at 4-4. Nicolas Saveljic was named the NCAA Tournament MVP.

SAVELJIC NAMED CUTINO AWARD WINNER
The Olympic Club announced on Sept. 2 that UCLA graduate student Nicolas Saveljic has been named the 2020-21 Peter J. Cutino Award winner. The Cutino Award is an iconic honor in NCAA water polo that recognizes the best men's and women's players each year. Saveljic became the first Bruin to claim the prize since goalkeeper Garrett Danner in 2016. He is also just the third different Bruin and the fourth overall winner on the UCLA men's side. Sean Kern is the only other Bruin to win the Cutino Award, and he did it twice in 1998 and 1999. Saveljic helped the Bruins win the 2020 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, the 12th in UCLA's storied history. Named a first-team All-American and a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American in 2020, Saveljic led the Bruins and the MPSF and was second in the NCAA in scoring with 37 goals in 16 games (2.3 goals per game). He was also third in assists on the team (10) to finish as the overall leading scorer on the squad with 47 points. He also led the team, the MPSF, and the NCAA in steals with 30 on the year. The reigning NCAA Player of the Year, Saveljic moved into sixth place on the UCLA career scoring charts with 164 goals. Saveljic wrote himself into the MPSF record books last season when he tied the all-time MPSF record for goals in a conference game and was one shy of tying the single-game record by an MPSF player in any game with a career-high eight goals in a 15-13 win over then-No. 1 Stanford on Feb. 7, 2021. Only two other players have scored eight goals in a game in league play (Ben Hallock, Stanford vs. California on 11/9/19 and Jeff Colyer, Long Beach State vs. UC Santa Barbara on 11/3/96). Additionally, it was the most-ever goals by a Bruin since Ryder Roberts scored seven goals in a win at No. 9 Pepperdine on Oct. 22, 2015.

DODD NAMED MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK FOR THE THIRD TIME
UCLA freshman Chase Dodd (Long Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS) has been named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office (Oct. 4). Dodd tied for the team lead in goals last week with four as the Bruins went 2-0. He tied for the team lead with three goals in the 18-8 win over No. 9 San Jose State on Saturday, Oct. 2. He came back in the nightcap to score one goal in the 13-5 win over Navy as UCLA improved to 13-1 on the year. Dodd added one assist in both games to finish second on the team in scoring with six points. He also had one steal against the Midshipmen. This is Dodd's third career MPSF weekly award.

DODD NAMED MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
UCLA freshman Chase Dodd (Long Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS) has been named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office (Sept. 13). Dodd accumulated five goals across three Bruin wins last week, netting one against No. 13 UC Irvine (Sept. 10), one against No. 8 UC San Diego (Sept. 11), and three vs. No. 19 Pomona-Pitzer (Sept. 11). Dodd added one assist, two steals, and drew two exclusions against the Anteaters and tallied a pair of steals against the Tritons. He has scored in each of his first seven collegiate games and leads the Bruins with 13 goals on the year. This is Dodd's second consecutive career MPSF weekly award, repeating the honor from his collegiate debut last week.

DODD NAMED MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
UCLA freshman Chase Dodd (Long Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS) has been named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office (Sept. 6). Dodd scored in each of his first four collegiate games, leading the top-ranked Bruins with eight goals as the team went 4-0 at the UC San Diego Invitational (Sept. 4-5). Dodd scored twice vs. Biola and once vs. Whittier on Saturday. Then on Sunday, he scored two goals against No. 14 California Baptist and three in a 14-12 comeback win vs. No. 6 UC Santa Barbara. Two of his three goals vs. the Gauchos came as the game-tying and game-winning scores with less than three minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Dodd added one assist, one field block and drew one exclusion against UCSB. This was Dodd's first career MPSF weekly award.

UCLA PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN MPSF
For the first time since 2010, four teams earned a first-place vote in the MPSF Men's Water Polo Preseason Coaches' Poll, with USC narrowly prevailing in the 2021 edition. The Trojans collected 22 points and two votes at the top. Defending NCAA Champion UCLA also picked up a pair of first-place votes in the poll with 21 points to place second. Stanford earned 17 points and one first-place vote for third while California tallied 16 points and the remaining first-place vote to finish fourth. Austin College (9) and Penn State Behrend (5) rounded out the poll, set to make a fourth and sixth appearance in the MPSF Championship Tournament, respectively.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Graduate student-athlete Nicolas Saveljic, the 2020 ACWPC Player of the Year, was the only Bruin selected as a first team All-American. Three Bruins were named second team All-American, which included Evan Rosenfeld, Jake Cavano, and Bernardo Maurizi. Rosenfeld, a redshirt senior utility, was named a second team All-American for the second time in his career (also in 2018). Rosenfeld had 12 goals and 18 points while drawing 13 exclusions and tallying nine steals on the year. Cavano, a senior attacker/utility, earned All-America honors for the third time in his career after being named a third team All-American in 2018 and 2019. He was third on the team in scoring with 22 goals, which ranked sixth in the MPSF. He also finished the season with 30 points and 13 steals. Maurizi, a junior goalkeeper, earned All-America honors for the first time in his career after leading the team, the MPSF, and the NCAA in saves with 143 on the year (10.2 saves per game). His 10.2 goals against average ranked fifth in the MPSF. He also finished fourth on the team in assists (eight) and second on the team, in the MPSF and third in the NCAA in steals with 26 on the year (1.9 steals per game). The final Bruin honored was junior attacker Tommy Gruwell, who earned honorable mention All-America accolades this season after being named as a third-teamer a year ago. Gruwell was second on the team and fifth in the MPSF in scoring with 23 goals. He was also second on the team in scoring with 34 points and second in drawn exclusions (18).

UCLA 2021 OUTLOOK
UCLA returns every starter and its top 16 scorers from the 2020 NCAA Championship team for the 2021 campaign. The Bruins also regain the services of 2019 first team All-American center and first team All-MPSF selection Felix Brozyna-Vilim (33 goals, 73 drawn exclusions (19 penalty)) who opted out of last season. The Bruins also return the 2020 NCAA Player of the Year, Nicolas Saveljic. Saveljic was the only Bruin selected as a first team All-American in 2020. He led the Bruins and the MPSF and was second in the NCAA in scoring with 37 goals in 16 games (2.3 goals per game). He was also third in assists on the team (10) to finish as the overall leading scorer on the squad with 47 points. He also led the team, the MPSF, and the NCAA in steals with 30 on the year.
 
Three second-team All-Americans return, which include redshirt senior utility Evan Rosenfeld (12 goals), senior attacker/utility Jake Cavano (22 goals), and junior goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi (10.2 saves per game, 10.2 goals against average).
 
Junior attacker Tommy Gruwell (23 goals, 34 points) also returns after being named an honorable mention All-American last season.

The Bruins also return a lot of talent that will provide much-needed depth at all positions. Starting in the cage, the Bruins return goalies Chase Honaker (three appearances in 2020) and Garret Griggs (two appearances in 2020). At utility, a trio returns this season that includes Guillermo Ocasio (three goals in four games), Giorgio Alessandria (two goals in eight games), and Maximo Rossi (scoreless in six appearances). Defender/utility Cameron Reagan (two goals in 16 games) also brings versatility and experience to the Bruins' lineup. Gabe Discipulo (14 goals in 16 games) will give a boost to the Bruins at two meters.

The largest group returning can be found at the attacker position. This group includes Makoto Kenney (20 goals in 12 games, MPSF Newcomer of the Year), Tanner Pulice (10 goals in 14 games), Chasen Travisano (nine goals in 16 games), Andy Rodgers (six goals in 14 games), Hayden Nightingale (four goals in 14 games), Jack Larsen (four goals in 16 games), Ryan Sawyer (one goal in six games), Ethan Shipman (one goal in four games), Max Berg (zero goals in one game), and Jack White (redshirted last season).

The only player UCLA lost from the 2020 campaign was junior defender Bailey Jarvis (nine games played, one goal).
 
FRESH FACES
Arriving in Westwood this season and looking to make an immediate impact are freshmen Ethan Crooks (6-0, ATK, Huntington Beach HS), Gianpiero Di Martire (6-1, ATK, Naples, Italy), Chase Dodd (6-3, ATK, Huntington Beach HS), Trey Doten (6-4, ATK, Davis Senior HS), Griffin Engstrom (6-5, UTL, Loyola HS), Anthony Gross (6-4, ATK, Granite Bay HS), Mark Laurlund (6-4, ATK, Monte Vista HS), Eli Liechty (6-4, CTR, Newport Harbor HS), and Grant Loth (6-4, CTR, Mater Dei HS).

THE WRIGHT STUFF
After guiding the Bruins to the NCAA Championship in 2020 and being named the ACWPC National Coach of the Year, Adam Wright returns for his 13th season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2021 with an overall record of 295-57 (.838) and an MPSF mark of 59-23 (.720). His teams earned perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores of 1,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while winning the school's 112th, 113th and 114th NCAA Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Wright added the fourth NCAA Championship to his resume as a head coach in 2020 (Mar. 21, 2021). On July 20, 2017, then-UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams. Wright was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 20, 2019, and to the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.
 
RECAPPING 2020
Overall Record: 9-7 | Final Ranking: 1st | NCAA Finish: 1st | MPSF Tournament Finish: 4th

The UCLA Bruins captured their 12th NCAA Championship in men's water polo with a 7-6 win at USC on Mar. 21, 2021 at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The win also marked the 119th NCAA Championship for the UCLA Athletic Department.

POLLING THE BRUINS
UCLA jumped two spots to No. 1 in last week's CWPA National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (96 points), released on Nov. 24.